~ ROLL CALL ~ Who is out there and what is your thyroid issue/condition ~

[ChitChatNine]

Post partial thryoidectomy 1/07 .. 2 benign and 2 small micro pap carcinomas removed.  Fully encpasulated and no lymph node involvement.

TSH is 1.7 on 88mcgs of Synthroid.  Cannot tolerate any more bcz of nervousness ,, 3mm nodule on the other side that looks on u/s like the benign one removed on other side.

1/2 the scar is really looking good .. the other half which was abscess/infected is slowly looking pretty good almost a yr later and my dermatologist says it will continue to get better daily!

Cheryl

[Applecore]

I seem to be having more problems with my emotions now and mentally that anything else.  I don't know what my tsh is right now - it was 5.6 and I am on 37.5 mg levothyroxine.  Tiredforever, I too have gluten intolerance and am learning to eat .  My B12 was 260 and is now up to 400.  My doctor won't give me the shots but my holistic doctor is giving me suplineal B12.  I take it at bedtime and it seems to help me sleep.  I am  so much better with the tiredness and mental fog from the thyroid but having anxiety and fear from ?.   I am also taking mega supplements and enzymes and also laprazam for the anxiety.  I don't know what I would do without that.  I had RAI 2 years ago and was fine no meds until March of this year and everything went haywire.  I went hypo with severe anxiety and I don't remember all the other stuff but am better now.  I am learning so much from everyone here and it also helps me to ask intelligent questions when I go to the doctors.   The only good thing about the gluten intolerance is loss of weight for it sure keeps you away from most of the sweets.  I also cannot eat eggs at this time.  If you ever want to talk about this go to my Profile and write me.  I would be glad to have someone to talk about the celiac and hashimoto which I also have.  
Thanks ChitChatNine - you are great with these little extras.    Linda

[choirgirl]

They said papillary carcinoma (I don't know if it was hurthle cell carcinoma, but could have been), but that was my endo over the phone.  I'll have the documentation in front of me in a week.
Lori

[tiredforever]

I am  new to the website, found it about 6 weeks ago after finding out Hashimotos. I didn't even ask my levels (wouldn't have remembered them anyway!) & have been on 25mm eutroxig.  Just had my levels done again & pretty sure will need to increase medication.  Dr thinks I have had this a long time.  Also have gluten intolerance/wheat allergy and have a shot of b12 nearly every week because of pins & needles, numbness, slow reflexes and 'very bad head'!! etc etc  Stomache not able to digest food much , but taking mega supplements & enzymes to get going again.   I am lucky compared to lots of you guys, no cancer or surgery, just need the right dose of meds I think (hope so anyway).  I still feel like kissing my new doctor as I was at the 'I can't do this any more' point. Reading the forum gives me a lot of insight & I know what to ask dr about now thanks everyone.  Can't believe a little gland can cause so much trouble!!!!!!

[ChitChatNine]

I am glad the surgery is over now for you ...... sounds very promising your voice will be ok .. it takes some time ...

What type of Cancer was it?

Cheryl

[choirgirl]

I'm new to the boards here.  I've had Hashimoto's for 10+years with a fairly large goiter.  I was on a low dose of levothyroxin .88 for years.  In September I noticed a nodule on my goiter.  I went in for an ultrasound at the end of September.  I was sent for a Needle Biopsy at the end of October.  It was found to be a complex nodule and had hurthle cells in it.  I was sent for a total thyroidectomy on December 20th.  Found out today (12/28) that it WAS cancer, but it was contained and  I don't need to have RAI.  Just need to have it checked by ultrasound for the next 10 years or so.  I was really worried about doing the surgery because I am a vocalist and it is my main profession.  Now that I found out it was cancer, I feel much better about having had the surgery.  I hope to get my singing voice back, anyone else out there have trouble with singing after surgery?  I feel good and the prognosis is good.  My surgeon used the nerve monitor and told me it didn't go off once during my surgery.  He also checked out my vocal chords before the surgery too, to make sure they were good.  I've been on Cytomel 25 mg twice a day since the surgery, but am going on Synthroid on Wednesday when my endo is back in the office.

[utahmomma]

I'm glad that the remaining thyroid tissue was cancer free!!!   RAI has some entertaining immediate effects and some possible long-term effects  (which I felt were less problematic than a recurrance of cancer).

Here's some info that may help:
From Johns Hopkins:  http://www.thyroid-cancer.net/topics/What+are+the+risks+associated+with+radioactive+iodine?
From Medicine.net:  http://www.medicinenet.com/thyroid_cancer/page6.htm
from thyrogen.com (for physicians but very useful):  http://www.thyrogen.com/healthcare/testing_monitoring/p_hc_test-algorithm.asp
and from endojournal (go about half way down in the article - search for: "Acute complications"):  http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/86/4/1447

My personal experience was the "hypo-hell" caused horrible muscle aches and depression but the RAI didn't change anything other than I lost my sense of smell for about 6 months.  However, since then I've developed arthritis which I'm attributing to the RAI.

All in all, it beat cancer.

I understand about you needing to be strong for your family.  I'm a single mother so that really hit home for me too.  What I didn't realize is that my family (especially my teenagers) needed me to talk to them and tell them what was happening.  They felt the need to be strong for me and I wasn't letting them.   Lean on us but don't deny your friends and family the chance to lend you their shoulders too.